Sleepy Hollow2
by CandiLand95
Summary: In 1799, the horseman rose and fell by those who tampered with what should remain dead. Centuries passed and now Aurora Crane, the only blood female descendent of Ichabod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel has moved to Sleepy Hollow, an Amish like town, and has caught the eye of the unholy horseman. But what really happened? can love triumph over everything? Lemon in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, this is my Sleepy Hollow story, I do not own any of the characters except Aurora and her parents (I so bloody wish) I do also have another Sleepy Hollow story similar to this but with a different plot line of how things happened and where things end up but with the same main character. Please excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes, I am a human, not a god like Johnny Depp, Tim Burton or Christopher Walken so sod off. If you have an questions or ideas, let me know. Well that's all I can think of, until next time… I bid you good day.**_

_**-CandiLand95**_

xXx Chapter one:Arriving xXx

The sun was beginning to set over the quaint town of Sleepy Hollow. It was 21st century but the town seemed to be a still shot of the past. A still shot of the late 18th century, the buildings still old and worn, and the towns' people wearing out-of-date clothes and were close knit. A dark blue car pulled up outside the old Van Tassel house and an eighteen year old girl with long golden hair and big deep blue eyes jumped out and took a look around the town. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a tight black singlet that shaped her body extremely well.

"Aurora! Can you help your father carry the bags in?" her mother said looking out the window at her teenage daughter. Aurora rolled her eyes and opened the boot and grabbed a huge coffee brown suitcase and dragged it up to the door. 'No lock?' she pushed the door open and made her way up stairs to the third floor which was an attic turned into a bedroom. She dropped onto the old bed and the dust flew out and around the room. An old maid with long white hair tied back into a bun and a long black Victorian dress walked in carrying a pile of fresh sheets and blankets.

"Oh hello dear, you must be Aurora Crane." She said smiling sweetly. Her posture was amazing for a lady her age and Aurora stared in fascination.

"Uh, yeah. So what's up with this town?" Aurora asked inquisitively. The maid smiled and leaned up against the wall and folded her arms against her chest.

"There is a dark secret this town that the townspeople keep from the world." Aurora opened up her suitcase and frowned. "That's a very interesting necklace you're wearing" the maid said indicating the silver necklace that dangled from Aurora's neck. Aurora grabbed the necklace and looked at it carefully without even thinking, it was a bird within a cage. She didn't know much about it at all really.

"Uh, yeah. It's a family heirloom. Apparently, I'm the first girl born within our family since Katrina Crane and this was hers. I think they believe I've broken the cycle or something and gave me this necklace to remind me how lucky I am to be a girl." The maid smiled slyly and turned her heel. "So what's your…" Aurora turned around and the old woman was gone. "…Name." Aurora sadly turned back to her open suitcase and pulled out a photo frame with a picture of friends back in New York. They stared blankly out at Aurora with huge smiles reminding her of what she was missing out on.

Bitterly, she put it on her bedside table and looked around the room, taking in all the details and faults. There was not much furniture in the room; a small double bed, a worn desk with dried up ink pots and old fashioned pens, a vanity desk with a large mirror with beautiful roses engraved around the edges, a large closet, a matching chest of draws and a mysterious chest at the base of the bed.

Aurora started to make her way to the chest to explore its contents and satisfy her curiosity but the door suddenly swung open and her father strode in carrying a big white box with a blue satin ribbon. Aurora quickly sat down on her bed and glared at that box, knowing she wasn't going to like what was inside it.

Her dad was a simple man, his eyes were dark blue like his daughter but his hair was as dark as charcoal. His features were delicate as was everyone in the family which matched his personality. "Hi honey, I've got you something." He held out the box and Aurora gingerly took the box and opened it. Her jaw dropped. Inside was a huge gold Victorian dress with creamy white frills and slashes on the sleeve to show the cream coloured fabric underneath.

"Dad, we aren't in the 18th century." She said laughingly. She liked the dress but she knew she would be ridiculed back at home.

"Oh come on Aurora, get into the spirit of Sleepy Hollow! I have!" he spread his arms open wide for her to see his old fashioned coat, shirt and matching pants with the socks on the outside. Aurora groaned and collapsed onto her bed. 'Lovely.'


	2. Chapter 2

_**Haha! Two chapters, one day! Okay, again I do not own any of the characters except the ones I've mentioned before yadadada… enjoy and let me know what you think!**_

xXx Chapter two: He's back xXx

Aurora, her mother Calissa and her father Victor made their way to Sleepy Hollow's tavern where a welcoming party was waiting for them. Her parents had gotten into the unusual dress code of Sleepy Hollow but Aurora just wore a green sleeveless cocktail dress and silver high heels. They walked in and everyone inside froze and turned to the new neighbours who looked around nervously. The eldest man there who was wearing a white powdered wig walked up with a forced warm smile.

"Mr Crane! How lovely for you and your family to join us." He held out his hand and Victor shook it wearily. "May I have a word with you and your daughter?" Aurora's blood ran cold. 'What did I do?' she thought quietly. Her father glanced back at his wife who shrugged her shoulders and sat down on an armchair by the fire and turned back to the man and nodded his head stiffly. Victor and Aurora followed after the man and instantly music and laughter filled the room, taking the tension away from most of the people. He led them to a large room with large armchairs around a roaring fire.

The old man turned to them and waved his hand, indicting them to sit down on the chairs. "I am Magistrate Porter; I believe you are the town's new notary?"

"Uh yes sir." Victor said trying to hide his fear by being proud and noble. Aurora sat down on a chair and shot glances from the magistrate to her father.

"There seems to be a problem…" he said, glancing at Aurora who quickly tried to avoid his and looked into the fire. "Your daughter does not understand the mandatory dress code of Sleepy Hollow. I know you have come from a modern society, but to live on these grounds she must dress appropriately." Aurora could feel them both gazing at her. "My wife can help her find something for her." He said on a lighter note. The magistrate walked out of the room and signalled Victor to follow after him. Victor got up and rested his hand on Aurora's shoulder for a second to comfort her before he left with the magistrate.

Within a minute, Lady Porter walked in with a crimson and black dress with long sleeves that flared out slightly. "Here you are dear, I'll show you how to put this on so you can do this by yourself later." She smiled warmly. She helped Aurora change into the dress, tightened her corset and fixed up her hair by twisting the side bits and tying them together with her long golden hair hanging down her back.

Lady Porter walked out back to the party leaving Aurora with her thoughts as she stared into the fire. 'Time to face the music, even if it's old' She got up and walked out to the party and she blended in extremely well and everyone had seemed to had forgotten the first appearance. All the young single men crowded around her, showering her with compliments and subtle hints of marriage. Aurora started smiling and actually enjoying herself.

Suddenly there was a loud scream and a woman ran inside panting and covered with splatters of blood. Everyone fell silent and the woman looked around hysterically for help. Aurora ran forward and clasped the woman who fainted in her arms, making both the women fall to the ground. A few men strode past them and out the door to investigate while a burly man helped Aurora up while another man picked the other woman up. "Hi." He said with a stupid grin on his face.

"Hi…" Aurora said unsure of this man, he wasn't her type and he thought he was. Oh he was handsome but too ordinary, too ordinary for Aurora. She tried to walk away but he grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back. "Please sir, let my arm go" she said with perfect manners. 'Oh no, this place is even effecting my speech and thoughts!' she thought worriedly as she picked up her skirts and ran out the door. Not too far from the tavern, townspeople had gathered around a body on the ground. Aurora ran up to them and saw a farmer lying on the ground dead with no head.

She gasped and fell down onto her knees in horror, she had never seen this in her life and it was a huge shock. Her father pulled her up onto her feet and started to lead her away but she managed to catch whispers that the townsfolk exchanged. "Headless horseman" "the hessian" but the one that ran shivers down her spine and caught her interest was: "He's back."


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay everybody, I know you have been waiting for this for a while and I only just got the chance to post a new chapter. Now everyone wants to know if this is a Hessian/OC fanfic and the answer is YES. This is an Aurora/Hessian story and if you don't like it, I honestly don't know why you're still reading this. Please remember this is my 1****st**** Sleepy Hollow fanfic so it's not exactly my best and if you want me to put up any of my other variations, please let me know. I do not own any of the characters except Aurora, her family, the Porters, the Masbath family and Samuel. No one else. I wish I could own ANY of the Johnny Depp characters ;) but sadly I don't and they will only be owned in my imagination. Read and Review! Gives me the warm fuzzies =)**

**-CandiLand95**

xXx Chapter three xXx

Aurora woke up the next morning in her new bed with grim determination to figure out what had happened and who was to blame. She pulled the golden dress her father had given her with a bit of a struggle and tied her hair half up, half down with a few strands loose to hang over her face. After she was dressed, she flew down the stairs and rushed past her worried mother who tried to stop her and talk and out the door and down the street to the magistrate's house.

She knocked on the door furiously, half scared, half worried. The door opened and Lady Porter stood in the door way with a puzzled expression on her face. "Miss Crane! What brings you here in the early hours of the morning?"

"Aurora, please. I wish to know what happened last night… I want to know why this town is so strange." She said with her bottom lip trembling slightly from fear and the tiniest bit of excitement. Lady Porter nodded her head and stepped out of the way for Aurora to walk in. "The Townsfolk said something about a horseman…" Aurora said as they sat down in the lounge room.

Lady Porter nodded her head and walked over to the book shelf and pulled out an old worn photo album. "It all started over three-hundred years ago. There was a Hessian or horseman if you will. He was sent over here from Germany to keep everyone in line with the British Empire." She opened the album and flicked through to a blurry charcoal drawing of a dark figure ridding a black horse. "He was well known for riding his horse 'daredevil' hard into battle and he decapitated his victims until one day in the forest not too far away from here, he was being hunted down. He was decapitated by his own sword and buried there. Twenty years later, murders began where all the victims were decapitated and their heads taken. A constable named Ichabod Crane came into town to solve the mystery."

Lady Porter turned the page in the photo album and showed Aurora a skilful drawing of a young man with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes and had beautiful features. "Wait, Crane?" Aurora said smiling slightly.

"Yes, you have his face." They both laughed and Lady Porter continued on. "Well, he fell in love with Katrina Van Tassel." She turned the page and there was a drawing of a girl that looked like Aurora's twin. They looked so alike it wasn't funny. There were some differences, Aurora's eyes were dark blue and her face looked like the constables. "Together they figured out an old witch was controlling the headless horseman…" She turned the page and showed a drawing of the crone, beautiful as she were, but her eyes held a cold gaze that pierced through Aurora's making her whimper slightly. "…and was using him to get her revenge on Sleepy Hollow and together they got rid of both the horseman and the crone."

Aurora stared blankly at the drawing and turned the page and saw Ichabod, Katrina and a little boy standing with them. "Who's that?" she asked.

Lady Porter looked at the photo. "Oh, that's Young Masbeth. He helped bring the crone down as well. Poor little boy, lost his mother and father before he reached man-hood…" Lady Porter stared out into the distance and Aurora awkwardly cleared her throat and stood up.

"Thank you Lady Porter, that was very insightful." Aurora said.

"Leaving? So soon?" she asked sadly.

"I'm sorry, but I wanted to visit my father before lunch time. Goodbye my lady."

"Goodbye sweet Aurora."


	4. Chapter 4

**Yep. More than one chapter uploaded at once. I wanted to get as much out as possible, I hate to leave you waiting for the story to progress (I know how it feels). I have many other fanfic ideas and pray to Tim Burton I get them up as soon as I finish writing at least half of it. Again I do not any of these characters… you know what? I am so not going to repeat myself, I'm pretty sure I've stated enough times I'm not the owner of Sleepy Hollow so stick it. Please Read and Review! Virtual cookies to all those who add this story to their alert list/ favourites list =)**

**CandiLand95**

xXx Chapter four xXx

"Dad, do you know what the townspeople think happened?" Aurora asked while sitting on a desk. Her father looked up her from another desk that was covered in mountains of papers and ink pots with stained quills.

"Uh, the Headless horseman fable?" she nodded her head vigorously which made him chuckle softly. "It's just a story Aura. A story they made up to scare people and explain the weirdness of the deaths."

"But dad, we're decedents of the people who defeated the headless horseman! It can't be just a story!" she said desperately. Her father slammed his fists down on the desk making her jump.

"Aurora! Go home and get rid of that silly nonsense about horsemen and fables!" he said angrily, turning his back to her.

Aurora slid off the table with tears threatening. "I wish you would just listen!" she cried to her father's back. She ran to the door which opened and a man walked in with a worn expression on his face.

"Sir, the funeral for Master Masbeth will be held today before sunset." He said as Aurora walked out. She heard this and spun around in horror, her face paled and she felt faint.

"Masbeth?" she whispered, praying she had just heard wrong.

"Yes… William Masbeth."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey-ho away I go! Another chappie with a special guest, the headless horseman who is no longer gonna be a cameo! I do not own Blah blah blah… you get what I'm saying, I'm not repeating. I was watching a youtube video of a movie crossover and let me say I'm extremely interested and inspired… what do you think of 'Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Hogwarts'? A bridge too far? Let me know. Please read and review!**

**CandiLand95**

xXx Chapter five xXx

The funeral went longer than expected, the sun had set and the townsfolk were still outside in the dark with only torches to light their paths. As they were walking back into town, the sound of heavy hoofs riding hard and fast grew louder and louder. A few people screamed and ran off, a few people just ran, but the rest that were like Aurora just stood there and stared in disbelief.

The headless horseman rode out onto the open plains swinging his long powerful sword as he did. Aurora looked at the horseman and felt entranced, raw power was rolling off him in waves, crashing over Aurora who stood still until someone grabbed her arm and yanked her back into reality. She turned her heels and ran back into the city with everyone else with the sound of the hoofs close at hand. She heard a familiar scream cut short and a dull thud behind her which made her look behind her.

A blood curtling scream escaped her lips. It was William Masbeth's wife who had been decapitated this time and her head rolled away from her body with her raven black hair whipping around her head like a silky blanket. Aurora froze and watched as the horseman turned his horse around and grabbed the head by the hair and galloped off. "Aurora! Aurora!" shouted Calissa hysterically, as she pushed through the frantic crowds to find her daughter. Aurora could hear her mother but she remained frozen, staring to the retreating back of the horseman.

A man grabbed her arm roughly and forced her to look away. "Miss Crane, please! We have to go." She looked up and recognised the man from the previous night that had helped her up. Aurora nodded her head and allowed him to lead her back to her house where her father and mother were beside themselves.

"Aurora!" her mother whispered hoarsely. She broke free from her husband's grasp and ran over to Aurora and threw her arms around her daughter's neck. "I thought I had lost you." She murmured into Aurora's ear. She pulled back and turned to the young man. "Thank you… erm…"

"Samuel ma'am." He said, finally letting go of Aurora who quickly walked over to her father while Samuel and her mother talked.

"I told you it's real." She said bitterly, not looking up to her father. Thoughts were racing through her mind, the headless horseman was back and out for blood. He had killed the last living decedents of Young Masbeth who had helped his demise. Maybe he was looking for revenge and was killing the decedents of those who killed him and that crone. A chill ran down her spine. 'That would me me and my father are next. We're the last decedents of the Crane family…' "I'm going to bed." Aurora said with a croaky voice as she turned around and almost ran into the house and up the stairs to her room where she collapsed on her bed and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, next chapter. I'm so not bothered writing a paragraph about how I do not own anything so I'll just skip to the icing; RELEASE THE KRAKEN! Sorry, I'm a bit hyperactive =P please read and review =)**

**CandiLand95**

xXx Chapter six xXx

She woke up the next day with a foggy mind and realised the sun was about to set once more, she had slept through an entire day. Aurora sat up and saw another white box sitting on the end of her bed, this time with a violet ribbon tied around it. She opened it up and gasped; it was a beautiful dark blue dress with silver trimming and a long silver bow that was tied around the waist and embroidered at the bottom was silver roses on a vine, twisting and turning around the base of the dress. It was a work of art, too perfect to not wear.

Without a moment's hesitation, Aurora put the dress on, fitting her perfectly and began dancing across the room, laughing and enjoying herself. The door creaked open and the maid scuttled in and watched in fascination as the girl danced. Aurora became aware of her unwanted audience and froze. She looked at the old woman and recognised her face but she didn't know from where. The old woman smiled and her cold eyes pierced Aurora's blue ones. Aurora gasped; it was Lady Van Tassel, the witch that had died around three hundred years ago. "You're… the witch!" she said in disbelief, slowly backing up against the wall of her room near the fire place.

Lady Van Tassel grinned evilly as she pulled her scarf off her white hair and pulled out a pair of old fashion scissors. "Pretty little Aurora…" she said in a slightly musical tone. "…Crane… do you know how much your family cost me? Hmm? My fortune, My family, My life!" she screamed. Aurora pushed herself against the wall hoping by some miracle she would be sucked into the wall and away from the witch.

"I'll tell everyone who you are!" she shouted desperately.

The witch laughed and Aurora mentally swore 'Stupid move Aura…' "As if you're going to live that long." She strode up to the girl and slapped her across the face with inhumane force and Aurora fell to the ground. "The horseman will stop you before you can breathe a word to anyone." She said as she cut a small lock of Aurora's golden hair and walked over to the fire and began to chant. "Rise up once more, my Dark Avenger! Rise up! Another night of beheading! Rise up with your sword, and your mistress of the night will make you whole." She pulled a worn skull out of her satchel around her waist and placed it in front of the fire. "A head for a head, my unholy horseman. Rise, rise, rise from the earth, come forth again through the tree of dead… come now for Aurora!"

She turned to Aurora and cackled evilly. Aurora jumped up and scrambled out the room, trying to get as much distance between herself and that horrid witch. "Oh I don't want to miss this…" Lady Van Tassel said to herself with a sly grin on her face as she slowly turned to follow after the running figure of Blue and silver.


	7. Chapter 7

**How is everybody? I hope you are all enjoying this story so far, cause Aurora/Hessian interaction is here! So excited! Is there any Angel or Buffy fans out there? Cause I've got something planned for you ;) I do not own Sleepy Hollow, nor am I the mastermind that is Tim Burton. Btw Dark Shadows was epic and I loved it (I know it's almost a month later but it had to be said.) please read and review =)**

**CandiLand95**

xXx Chapter Seven xXx

Aurora ran through the woods, trying to keep the horseman as far away from the town as possible and keep as much distance between her and the crone. She couldn't see where she was going; it was getting darker and darker with each frantic heartbeat. Aurora could hear hoofs pounding behind her which made her heart freeze inside her panting chest. A gnarly root tripped her over and she landed fast first onto the grass. Aurora rolled over, groaning and holding her head as the hoof-beats got closer.

Aurora watched in horror as the headless horseman galloped towards her swinging the sword around threatening. Aurora pulled herself off the grass and without thinking ran down the path to the tree of death where an old white haired witch stood, laughing and holding the horseman's skull on her hip. Aurora's eyes narrowed as she tackled the witch to the ground and wrestled her for the skull. "Give. Me. The. Skull!" she grunted. The witch grabbed her necklace and started strangling Aurora until the clasp gave way, giving Aurora a chance to fight back. She then pulling the witch's hair, making her scream and loosen her grip on the skull.

The horseman stopped his horse and jumped off, swinging the sword effortlessly. Aurora scrambled up and backed up against the tree and held out the skull as a peace offering. The horseman froze, inches away from Aurora and slowly took his skull and placed it upon his shoulders within the stiff high collar of his cloak.

Suddenly muscle and tissue began to grow over the skull as the horseman thrashed and wriggled about, his jaw dropping in a silent scream. Aurora watched in horror as the horseman bent down, gasping in pain. Slowly he stood up straight and Aurora got the shock of her life. The Hessian had dark long hair in spikes, his skin was pale as pure snow, his eyes were electric blue and startling and his teeth were sharp as little daggers, making him a frightening picture. Aurora forced herself not to scream at this sight while he just stared into her deep blue eyes. She intrigued him.

He looked at her up and down, taking in her slim shape that was wrapped within a beautiful silver and blue dress. Her skin was flawless and pale (but not as pale as him of course) and her cheeks were slightly pink. Her lips were ruby red like rich wine from the cold chilly night and were perfectly curved, just like every other part of her. Her long golden hair hung in loose waves down to her waist. He wanted to touch her skin, feel its softness. Run his fingers through that soft looking hair. He wanted to drown in her dark blue eyes framed by long black eyelashes. He wanted to kiss those lips. He wanted to taste the forbidden wine that was in front of him.

Without thinking, he ripped off his glove and extended his hand and lightly stroked her warm soft skin. Aurora's mind went fuzzy and and she leant into his touch and closed her eyes to enjoy the coolness of his flesh. A weary smile crept onto the horseman's face and her eyes slowly opened and stared into his own. The Witch looked from the Hessian to the entranced girl and laughed loudly snapping Aurora out of her dazed state.

She quickly ducked under his arm and quickly started running, picking up her skirts to do so. "Hab keine angst!" the hessian shouted hoarsely after her. Aurora kept running so the Hessian tried to speak in English "Don't be afraid!" he managed to say, he was rusty with his English, he usually shouted out a war cry in anguish or spoke German. But the beauty kept running off into the night. Angrily, he turned back to Lady Van Tassel who looked up at him with fright and tried to push herself away from him. He lifted up his mighty sword and with one swift movement; Lady Van Tassel lost her head.

He picked up the head and looked into its eyes. He hated her for dragging him back from the grave yet again but this time it gave him a chance to meet the lovely girl that interested him.

Carelessly, he threw the head into the gateway in the tree where he entered this world and watched the head roll into hell. An evil grin broke out on his face as this happened. He was about to follow after the head when something shiny in the grass caught his attention. He bent over and picked it up, it was her necklace. It was a silver bird in a cage on a silver chain.

He lifted it up to his face and inhaled the scent; it was her scent, a soft blend of buttermilk and vanilla. He closed his eyes; the scent was sending him into ecstasy, sending beautiful images of her through his mind. He had to return it to her; he had to see her again, even if she didn't want to see him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay next chapter! I'm so happy everyone likes this story; it gives me the warm fuzzies. Okay so we left of with the horseman finding her necklace but how will Aurora react to our loveable headless ghost? I feel like I'm rushing this little romance but I hate changing what I've already written, I've done that in different versions but this is the original with only a few edits and I'm keeping it like that. I'm trying to lengthen the chapters but that would involve changing the style and type of writing I've started with and therefore change the story (trust me it does happen). Soon I'll put up my new Angel story but I'm working on a lot of stories that have piled up over the past year. I do not own sleepy hollow, I wish, but alas I do not. Please enjoy and please leave a review. "Quite often, young lady, it seems like we're not getting anywhere, when in fact..." virtual cookie to whoever can finish this quote and tell me what movie it's from. =)**

**-CandiLand95**

xXx Chapter Eight xXx

Aurora ran into the house with tears running down her face and slammed the door behind her. Her heart was racing and her mind was filled with strange thoughts and images, frightening her beyond belief. She saw the back of her father and sighed in relief, she was safe and sound at home. He then turned around holding a butcher's knife covered with blood and a mangled chicken laid on the table. Aurora then slipped to the floor unconscious.

Aurora woke up the next morning with her mother sitting on the bed with a wet cloth, dampening her flushed forehead. "It was just a dream…" Aurora said more to herself than to her mother. Before her mother could reply or react, Aurora threw her arms around her neck. "I love you mum…" she murmured into her mother's light brown hair. Her mother laughed and asked her why the sudden outbursts of love and hugs. "I just wanted you to know that I love you." Aurora said smiling at her mother.

"Well dear, we've been invited to a masquerade ball tonight." Calissa said happily to her daughter. Aurora squealed in delight and jumped out of bed and quickly got changed into her golden dress and turned to her mother and hugged her again. "I'm glad you're excited honey but it's not till tonight." Calissa said laughingly, loving the enthusiasm her daughter was now showing.

"I know mum, I just want to go exploring for a while." Aurora said, grabbing her cloak and tying it around her neck.

"Ok Hun, just don't be out for too long." Calissa said, looking down at her daughter's bed as Aurora skipped out the door. "What happened?" she asked herself once her daughter had left the room.

Aurora began walking through the woods, giddy with excitement and fear. The woods weren't as scary as they were at night; they seemed to be magical and beautiful. Petals from the cherry blossom trees blew in the wind by the million making it seem even more magical. Aurora laughed and started skipping and dancing holding out her arms, letting the soft petals touch her skin. She twirled and twirled smiling brilliantly up at the sky then she bumped into a solid chest belonging to a man. Aurora looked up and her smile faded instantly, it was the hessian.

He looked down at her with what looked like longing in his eyes, this further scared Aurora who tried to run but he grabbed her arm and turned her around. She looked up at him fear and braced her for the worst but he did something unexpected, he pulled out her necklace from his pocket and held it out for her. Aurora realised what he was doing and allowed him to walk behind her, move her hair out of the way and put the necklace around her neck.

His gloved hand lightly stroked the bare skin of her pale neck and a shiver ran down her spine only this time it wasn't from fear.

Aurora turned around and stared at him, he was supposed to be a murderous villain but here he was, giving her necklace back and staring longingly into her eyes. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look away from his entrancing eyes. "Thank you… What's y-your name?" she asked inquisitively.

He smiled, trying not to scare her off with his teeth, not many ask him for his name… usually they just scream and run for their lives. "Eachuin. Eachuin Maclean." He said with a heavy German accent. Aurora couldn't help but smile, his accent was rather… pleasing, it was masculine but not too rough it scared her.

"Well, Eachuin. My name is Aurora Crane." She said with etiquette and grace. To mock her own etiquette, she curtseyed which made the horseman chuckle.

"I know… being undead has its advantages." he said looking down at his shoes. Aurora laughed at his joke and his head shot up at the sound. He then locked eyes with Aurora and slowly moved forward until they were inches part again. "Sie sind wunderschon…" he murmured as he carefully tilted up her chin to kiss her, and the scariest part was, she wasn't objecting. Her instinct screams at her, telling her to run as fast as she can in the opposite direction but she couldn't move. She didn't want to.

"Miss Crane!" shouted a man in the distance. Aurora broke out of her trance and turned around to see the person calling out her name, leaving the horseman hanging, and waiting for his kiss.

"Oh, it's Samuel. I've got to go." She said sadly. Aurora kissed him lightly on the cheek and flashed a brilliant smile. "Goodbye Eachuin." Aurora said, turning her heel and running off towards the worried voice. The hessian just stood there, so shocked. His hand absentmindedly touched his cheek as he stared out to the small speck that was Aurora. He walked back to the dark parts of the woods to the tree of death and leaned up against it. The hessian's horse, Daredevil, trotted up to him and nudged him gently, as if asking if he was okay.

Eachuin lovingly patted his horse and images of her dancing in the petals, her sweet smile, the way she said his name filled his mind with sweet bliss. "Wunderschon… beautiful… isn't she Daredevil?" Daredevil huffed and bobbed his head three times indicating yes making Eachuin laugh. "Mein schöner Engel…"


	9. Chapter 9

xXx Chapter Nine xXx

Aurora walked into the tavern at night, wearing a beautiful white gown with large feathery angel wings and a golden mask with white feathers that fanned back. As she walked in, all the men turned to her and invited her over to dance and drink ale with them. Half the men dressed up as the hessian, a few of them looked extremely like the horseman, this made Aurora's stomach flip. After five minutes of begging, the men convinced Aurora to play an old folk game where the men danced in a circle while she stood in the centre blindfolded chanting 'The Pikity witch! The pikity witch! Who's got a kiss for the pikity witch?'

As the men skipped around her, she chanted and after a minute, she lightly grabbed a man and felt his face. It was cold and smooth and she could feel his mask on his face. "Samuel?" she asked, still blindfolded. The man shook his head 'he must be shy' she thought. "Well, have a kiss anyway." She lightly kissed his cheek. Aurora took the blindfold and saw it was a man dressed up as the Hessian, and had chosen his costume well. He wore a large mask that covered most of his facial features and hid his eyes. "Would you like to dance?" she asked him arching an eyebrow coly.

The man nodded his head and held out his hand which Aurora slipped her own hand into his and they walked onto the dance floor. The music was slow and romantic and Aurora wrapped her hands around his neck as he wrapped his hands around her waist. She rested her head onto the man's chest as he rested his chin on her soft hair. They slowly revolved around in their own little word, Aurora didn't know who it was but it gave her a mysterious chill not knowing whose arms she was in.

Aurora looked up at the man, she recognised him from somewhere but she didn't know where, what she could see of his face reminded her of someone but she didn't know who. "Who are you?" she asked softly, looking up into his eyes which as far as she could tell, they were a light colour.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear "Eachuin Maclean."

Aurora quickly looked up at his face, just in time to catch a quick flash of his sharpened teeth. Eachuin half expected her to try and run away but she surprised him again by staying with him, and still dancing with him as if nothing had changed. "If they they see who you are, they'll…"

"What?" interrupted the real horseman, looking down at Aurora with a slight smile. "Kill me?" Aurora scoffed and rested her face against his chest again.

"Make you leave…" she said. Aurora couldn't understand her feelings at that moment, he had tried to kill her, he was extremely frightening but she didn't want him to leave… she didn't want to stop dancing with him. She wasn't the only one who was confused, Eachuin couldn't understand why this girl had caught his attention, she was just another beautiful woman, but there was something about her. Something that drew him to her.

Samuel had been drinking and watching Aurora dance with the mysterious man for about an hour. Eachuin leaned forward to kiss Aurora who was not objecting which made Samuel furious. Samuel slammed his cup down, sloping ale everywhere and marched up to the mysterious man and ripped his mask off to see who it was. He and everyone else who was watching froze, it was the real horseman, the blood-thirsty hessian from the grave. Eachuin looked around, realising he was surrounded by people that hated him. Without thinking, his grip tightened on Aurora who gasped in pain and tried to stop her tears from falling, she didn't want Eachuin to get the wrong idea.

Samuel shouted out angrily and pulled out his sword. Eachuin let Aurora go and pulled out his own sword and something inhuman came bout in his eyes as he shouted angrily. He instinctively pushed Aurora behind him to protect her which angered Samuel even more.

Samuel and Eachuin began sword fighting, both out for blood. Eachuin was fighting with skill and grace and relying on his well-tuned instincts while Samuel was fighting blindly, relying on pure hatred. The fight travelled outside with Aurora in hysterics behind them. The hessian knocked Samuel down onto his knees and lifted up his sword to deliver the final blow. "Eachuin! Don't!" Aurora shouted from the crowd. He looked up at her and saw her crying, his expression softened and he put his sword back into his sheath.

"Ungeziefer" he spat at Samuel. Eachuin turned his heel and put two fingers up to his lips and whistled loudly. Daredevil appeared out of (what seemed to be) nowhere and Eachuin expertly mounted the horse. "Heeya!" he shouted loudly, scaring the townsfolk. He galloped into the night with his cape bellowing behind him in the wind.

Instantly, everyone in the tavern began gossiping about the horseman and what had just happened. Aurora caught a few conversations as she shoved past people to grab her cloak.

"It is a sign from the devil!"

"How did we not see him?"

"Why did he come?"

"Poor girl, he must have threatened her." Aurora couldn't take anymore and ran out the door with tears threatening. She burst through her front door and clambered up the stairs, feeling extremely light-headed and dizzy. Before she could even make it to the bed, she collapsed onto the floor unconscious, she had inherited Ichabod's well known trait… fainting.

xXx

Eachuin quietly walked into Aurora's room and saw her passed out; he remembered Ichabod and his fainting habits and smiled. Careful not to wake her, he picked her up and carried her over to her bed and carefully laid her down. She was so light; he could have carried her around the world and back if she would let him. The hessian then gently pulled her wings and mask off and placed them carefully on the floor next to her bed. He pulled a heavy quilt over her slightly shivering body and with a gloveless hand; he began stroking her soft golden locks. Eachuin heard the front door bang shut downstairs and he quickly ducked into the shadows behind her wardrobe just in time.

The door opened and Aurora's mother and father walked in to see if Aurora was ok. They saw their daughter sleeping peacefully and quietly closed the door and went to their bed. Eachuin opened the window and sat on the window sill with his legs dangling out. He turned back once more to look at Aurora then he slipped out and landed on his legs which buckled. He heard a snap and felt a jolt of pain but he just grimaced. The beauty of being dead was he couldn't get hurt, he felt the pain but he healed almost instantly.

Daredevil trotted around the corner, sensing his rider who smiled and again mounted the horse, being careful not to jab him with his spurs, and gently nudged him, to let daredevil know to leave quietly.


	10. Chapter 10

Aurora woke up just before the sun began to rise and looked around the room. "Eachuin?" she called out hopefully to the empty room. When she got no reply she sadly thought _'It was just a dream'_. She then saw the open window and her eyes grew wide. _'It's not a dream!'_ Aurora scrambled out of bed, still wearing her beautiful white dress, and ran outside and into the woods, following the Indian trail. After a while she found the tree of death and kneeling on top of a mount where the tree grew out from was Eachuin. She slowed down to a walk and her smile dropped. The mound looked like a grave.

"Eachuin?" Aurora asked cautiously. He blinked his eyes at this but didn't look up; Aurora slowly climbed up and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?" she asked as she lightly touched his arm.

The hessian bit his bottom lip, breaking the skin. He remembered who was sitting next to him and quickly licked it up slightly embarrassed. "Everything." He said bitterly. "I wasn't always… like this…" he looked up at her with a weak smile. "I was once human. Innocent. My father died when I was twelve and my mother relied on me heavily. But because my father had died, I had to take his place as a mercenary. They shipped me and my mother to America and forced me to train in combat but I refused to hurt anyone."

Aurora frowned and Eachuin smiled, for real this time. "I know, I've changed. They found out about the connection between me and my mother and threatened to kill her if I didn't comply. So for years, I went to war, fought, killed. I even let them file my teeth down to sharp points to make me look like a monster, to match my eyes apparently. But when the wars died down and I went to the cottage where my mother was supposed to be living in, I found her dead..." His voice faltered slightly. He hadn't opened up to anyone before, but then again, he had been dead for over three hundred years and even when he was, no one seemed to care. "They had killed her. She wasn't important to them anymore." He said a little stronger.

"I then found the men who had killed her and cut off their heads. I was then _'not important to them anymore'_ and I was hunted down like an animal." He said looking down at his grave. "They used my own sword to kill me… I never had a normal life; I just wanted to have a normal life. Not be on the run, not be in a war, just live." Aurora reached out and took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Now you can." She said smiling. Eachuin looked at her hand than her face with a mixture of shock and hope. "Come with me, I can help you!" he swallowed and nodded his head.

xXx

Aurora opened the door to her room and Eachuin walked into the room, half scared something was going to happen. She closed the door and pulled out a history book from her suitcase and sat on the bed and patted the empty spot next to her. The horseman sat next to her awkwardly and she opened the book and began to show him the history of the world. Hours later and several books later, she told the hessian to hide in the wardrobe for a few minutes while she goes down stairs.

A few minutes later, Aurora and her father stumbled in carrying a huge metal bathtub. "Are you sure you want this in your room?" he asked, huffing and puffing. They put it down not too far away from the window and her father stretched his back out.

"Yeah dad, I'll get the water and have a nice long soak tonight in here. I'm really tired and I feel uncomfortable bathing near the kitchen…" she began but was interrupted by her mother and a several new servant girls carrying buckets filled to the brim with piping hot water.

"Here you are dear, I knew you were going to ask for a bath so I had this water heated up for you." Calissa said as she poured the water into the tub.

"Thank you. Both of you. This means a lot to me." Eachuin listened from the wardrobe, and watched through the small gap._ 'This means a lot to me?'_ he thought _'I mean a lot to you?'_ Aurora's parents bid her goodnight (and only then did Eachuin realise the time) and walked out along with the servants, leaving Aurora alone with the horseman. "You can come out now." She called out to Eachuin as she poured a bubble mixture into the bath to help _'cover'_ him up and save his dignity. The hessian cautiously stepped out of the wardrobe and walked over to the girl.

"A bath?" he said raising his eyebrows.

"Well, no offence but you have been sleeping in the dirt for over three hundred years…" she said with a sly smile. He chuckled slightly which shocked Aurora but it comforted her slightly, it meant he still had a sense of humour left in him. He began stripping while she stirred the bubble solution around to create a mass amount of bubbles to last. Eachuin was completely topless and began undoing his pants.

Aurora looked up and gasped, the horseman looked bulky with his armour and cloak but he was slim but muscular with a touch of dark hair on his pale skin. He pulled his pants down and reached for his underpants that looked similar to modern day boxer-shorts. Aurora quickly got up and turned her head the other way, her face going red. She heard him slide into the water and assumed it was safe enough to look and turned around. The hessian picked up a bottle of shampoo and stared at it intensely wondering what on earth it was. Aurora bit her lip, trying not laugh at this, she thought it was kind of cute.

She took the bottle out of his hand and knelt beside the tub. "This washes hair, you wet your hair and then you rub this into your hair and then you rinse it out with plenty of water" the horseman looked at her sceptically but went underwater for a second and then rose again and shook his head like a dog. Aurora went slightly pink again, his hair was dripping tiny droplets of water onto his chest. She quickly opened up the bottle of shampoo and squirted a bit onto her hand and then began massaging it into his hair. "Ok, rinse it out."

Eachuin went underwater and ran his fingers through his hair, getting rid of all the suds within his black (now shaggy) hair. He sat back up but his hair covered his eyes. Aurora pushed his hair out of the way slowly and stared into his eyes. _'Why was I even afraid of him? His eyes are beautiful…'_

"Um Eachuin?" she said with her hands still on his face but tracing his facial features. "What does 'Sie sind wunderschon' mean?" Aurora said in her best German accent.

The hessian chuckled slightly and touched her soft hair. "It means, 'you are beautiful'." She smiled and they both leaned forward, closing their eyes. Their lips were centimetres apart when Eachuin froze in fright. Aurora sensed this and decided to make the first move. She lightly kissed his lips and a chill ran down her spine, a chill created by excitement and foreboding. He instantly replied to her kiss with more soft kisses that soon turned into more fierce kissing. Eachuin wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up to the edge of the bathtub and against his dripping chest.

Aurora wrapped her arms around his neck with one hand in his hair and the other on his bare wet back. He growled and accidently bit her bottom lip making her gasp out in pain. Eachuin quickly pushed himself away, sloshing water onto the floorboards and nearly falling out himself. He felt so ashamed of himself, he had hurt her, the beautiful angel. Aurora touched her lip and felt the small cut where the blood was slowly seeping out of. "I'm sorry." He whispered, slightly curled up in the tub.

Aurora waved the apology away and handed him a bar of soap and a towel. As he washed himself, she opened the wardrobe door and stood behind it to get changed into her nightgown.

As he got out and dried himself, Aurora opened up the mysterious chest and found found a pair of old-fashioned pants and white shirt that looked like it could fit Eachuin easily. She pulled them out and handed them to the horseman who had his towel wrapped around his narrow hips. He looked at them shocked. "Ichabod…" he murmured.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"These are Ichabod Crane's clothes." He looked up at Aurora and smiled. "He also freed me from the witch's control." His smile didn't last long though. "I dragged her to hell last time but she somehow managed to claw her way back to the land of the living…"

"Living isn't all it's cracked up to be, all the beauty in the world is gone…" she quickly glanced at Eachuin, whose hair was still dripping. She shook her head and smiled again. "Get dressed into these and I'll make you a bed, there's not much room in mine."

The hessian smiled slyly and nodded his head.


	11. Chapter 11

Eachuin woke up early, before Aurora. He had been sleeping on a thick fur rug with a heavy quilt and a feather-stuffed pillow. He could have slept on the cold floor with nothing but Aurora insisted and threatened to give him the bed and sleep on the floor herself. Eachuin walked up to her bed and lightly stroked her hair lovingly until her eyes fluttered open like a frightened doe. He backed off again and Aurora sat up, realising she had scared him off again.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she began. "I'll be right back." She said, getting up from her bed. Eachuin sat down on his make-shift bed and put his head in his hands and began rubbing his temples. A few minutes later, Aurora walked up the the stairs and into her room with a tray loaded with an array of breakfast foods. "I didn't know what you liked… so I grabbed a bit of everything. Thank god the maid's up this early." She sat down and put the tray between them and for the next hour, they ate and talked about everything they could think of.

He noticed the photo of Aurora's friends back in New York. "Who are they?" Eachuin said pointing at the photo. Aurora glanced at it and her smile faded.

"They're my friends… it feels like they're a million miles away." She said staring out into the distance. The rest of the day consisted of more talking and laughing, mainly on Aurora's side but just after the sun had set the hessian smiled and took her hand.

"You said that the world has lost its beauty… I'm going to prove you wrong." He said looking into her eyes.

xXx

Daredevil galloped along a hidden path with Eachuin and Aurora on his back. Aurora was sitting behind the hessian with her hands wrapped around his waist and was also wearing his cloak to hide her from the chilly wind. Eachuin pulled the reins bringing Daredevil to a sudden stop near a steep rocky slope, covered in a curtain of ferns and vines. He slide off the horse and held out his hand for Aurora who smiled and allowed him to help her get off the horse. Daredevil then trotted off leaving the two alone with the hessian smiling slightly and Aurora extremely puzzled.

"Eachuin… why are we here?" his grin widened, flashing his teeth that no longer scared Aurora and pulled the curtain of flora to expose an opening big enough for them to walk through if they slouch over. She raised an eyebrow at the horsemen. "You're joking."

He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Trust me, it's worth it." Eachuin bent over and walked into the entrance, his pants tightened around his backside and Aurora caught herself staring. She bit her tongue to stop herself giggling and followed after him. They walked for a minute in silence until a ray of light shone up ahead, Eachuin shot a look back to see if Aurora was still following after him.

They walked out into a clearing hidden by the rocky cliffs and in the centre was a beautiful hot water spring with a waterfall. Aurora gasped; it was so secluded and had a sense of romance and magic about it. She laughed and began wandering around and examining the beautiful but rare flowers that only grew in that spot. Eachuin watched her with a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest which he thought was impossible for him. Aurora untied her shoes and pulled off her stockings and dipped her toes into the water to feel its temperatures. She closed her eyes and sighed at the warmth, not knowing the hessian was beginning to strip behind her.

Eachuin climbed onto a rock a metre above the water in his underpants and gracefully swan-dived into the water making only the slightest splash. Aurora looked over and the hessian surfaced with a large smile. "Aurora! Come in!"

Aurora looked down at her dress and frowned. "I don't have any swimmers!" he looked at her puzzled and Aurora sighed. She undid the clasp of the heavy cloak and gingerly undressed herself leaving her in her black modern day underwear and bra. The hessian couldn't help but stare as she slowly waded into the hot water, closer towards him. In the spot they stood, the water was lapping against her breasts and half way up his chest and was rippling from the waterfall.

Aurora dived underwater to wet her hair but when she surfaced, Eachuin was gone. "Eachuin?" she said looking around for the pale horseman. Suddenly something grabbed her ankles and dragged her under the water. Aurora opened her eyes and saw the hessian pulling her legs, grinning madly. Eachuin grabbed her waist and pulled her back above the water effortlessly, he didn't need air but she did. Once Aurora caught her breath, she splashed the horseman who laughed and looked up and saw they were standing between the rush of water from the waterfall and the rocky wall of the mountain.

Aurora was doing the same thing only with an amazed look on her face; she then spotted a seven petalled flower with black and violet. Spotting what Aurora had spotted and seeing the longing for the flower in her eyes, Eachuin carefully picked Aurora up around her legs and lifted her up to pick the beautiful flower.

Aurora picked the unique flower and turned around within the hessian's grip to face him as he slowly lowered her. "Thank you Eachuin…" she said softly, leaning forward and kissing his lips softly.

"I-I can't…" he stuttered. Still holding onto her with one hand, he ran his fingers through her hair. "I can't hurt you again."

Aurora touched his face lightly and kissed his lip and began making a trail of kisses along his face. "We just have to be careful." She whispered in his ear. The whisper sent a chill down his spine and he gave into her and his animal instincts…


End file.
